The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1.2 billion — the third-largest prize in the game’s history — without a winner Monday night.<br />Among the winner’s big decisions will be the choice between a lump sum payout worth $551.7 million or an annuitized prize of $1.2 billion. Both options are pretax estimates.<br />The next Powerball drawing is Wednesday at 11 p.m. ET, and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.<br />While the lump sum provides a full prize up front, the annuity offers one immediate payment, followed by 29 annual payouts that increase 5% each year, according to Powerball.
